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How to find a roommate?
Renting an apartment or a house is fun, but renting with several people is even better. Very developed in Anglo-Saxon countries, shared accommodation is becoming a very common way of life in France, especially in Paris. Students have adopted it for a long time, and young working people are increasingly interested in it.
What is shared accommodation?
Joint tenancy involves sharing a home with one or more people and sharing the cost and expenses. Each roommate pays the landlord (or owner) his share of the rent and his share of the security deposit.
It is then up to the roommates to share the internal costs: electricity subscriptions, Internet access, home insurance, purchases of furniture and utensils ... The roommates are also required to share any costs generated by the damage.
What contract for a shared apartment?
For the signing of the lease, the lessor can offer you different options:
- either he establishes a rental contract with each of the roommates,
- or he has all the roommates sign a single lease.
In the case of a single lease, a solidarity clause may appear, that is to say that the roommates undertake to cover any payment defaults by one of them. Each roommate thus vouches for the other and each of them must take out home insurance.
Shared accommodation offers many advantages. It significantly minimizes expenses by dividing the cost of rent by the number of roommates. And above all, on a human level, we avoid being alone and facing rental problems without any support.
How do I find a roommate?
Finding a roommate often means looking for shared accommodation. The roommate may have moved in before you, or at the same time as you, or after you. So you often don't have to look, it's your future roommate who finds you. It is still useful to know how to find a roommate.
You can easily find a roommate. The demand is high, but the important thing is to find the right person because you will be sharing your life. Even though this union is more practical than sentimental, it is nonetheless important that you share some affinities with your roommate. Roommate can become less pleasant if your roommate does not inspire you with confidence or is disrespectful of your lifestyle (or you theirs).
Activate word of mouth
To find a roommate, word of mouth is often recommended. Let your friends, family and friends know that you are looking for a roommate. People who know you well are best able to advise you on someone who is right for you. You might even meet someone you already know but didn't know was looking for.
By talking to your loved ones, you will gradually establish what the ideal roommate would look like. In the student world, there are many people looking for a roommate. The matter can therefore be settled fairly quickly. This is also the case in the salaried world, where colocation is also gaining more and more followers.
Take the time to get to know each other
If a candidate comes forward, take the time to get to know each other well. It's a bit like a job interview: Does the candidate have experience in shared accommodation? What is his vision of shared accommodation? Does it correspond to the profile sought?
We must clearly identify the eliminatory aspects: smoker or non-smoker? Groundhog or night owl? Does he accept pets (or do you yourself allow him to move in with his dog, cat or goldfish)? Does he plan to invite friends often (and does he allow you to invite friends)? What is his level of motivation towards household chores?
Once these points are validated, it remains to assess whether there is a "match": you must imagine yourself living with this person. So assess what your tolerance threshold will be when she occupies the toilet or the bathroom, how much confidence you will place in her when you have to be away ...
It can also happen that it is the candidate who ultimately declines the offer. Nothing to undermine! Better to rejoice instead in the honesty of the person who considered that sharing your life (because that is what it is) would bring you more inconvenience than satisfaction.
What does the owner think?
You should also know that the landlord can refuse your future roommate, without needing to justify the reason. Of course, he cannot refuse the principle of shared accommodation if it was clearly provided for at the start. Your landlord can not therefore take the fold of systematic refusal. He also cannot impose a roommate on you from the moment you sign the rental agreement. We must remain vigilant about these situations which can cause misunderstandings.
How to find a roommate by advertisement ?
In case you can't find anyone through word of mouth or if you haven't matched a potential roommate you've met, it's time to get down to the classifieds. Today there are a large number of sites and Facebook groups on the Internet that offer roommate ads. You can leave yours there, specify whether or not you have a furnished room, etc. You can also respond to requests. No need to answer too many. Make sure that you will be able to answer each one. It is never very pleasant to have to turn down potential roommates.
Studapart offers roommate announcements for students and young workers
Studapart notably offers a large number of roommate announcements for students and young workers. Go to www.studapart.com. When you are on the advertisements page for the city you have chosen, click in the menu on "Type of advertisement" then check "Room in a rental". The advertisements published on Studapart are verified and therefore absolutely reliable. You will thus come across serious and motivated people. Studapart is a recognized platform in the real estate world. Many students and young workers have used it for their housing searches and it has been crowned with success.